Youth Climate Adaptation Action Day convening on 12th October 2025./ PHOTO; Global Center on Adaptation (GCA)
As countries work to strengthen their adaptation commitments, young people have added a clear and united voice to the global climate conversation: a shared agenda for a more resilient future.
Unveiled in Belém, Brazil during COP30’s Education Day, the Global Youth Call to Action on Adaptation brings together the views of young people from across more than ninety countries.
It reflects months of dialogue, collaboration, and reflection among student networks, youth-led organisations, and grassroots movements, all shaping what they believe should guide stronger NDCs and NAPs.
This Call to Action is the result of one of the most extensive youth consultation processes ever undertaken on climate adaptation.
It was organised for Youth Climate Adaptation Day 2025 and drew inspiration from the Global Center on Adaptation’s Guide to Organizing Youth Consultations on NDCs and NAPs, a resource that helps young people engage directly with policy processes and influence decisions that shape national resilience efforts.
GCA President and CEO Professor Patrick V. Verkooijen underscored the importance of young people driving adaptation priorities.
“As we advance AAAP 2.0, young people must be at the center of the adaptation agenda, shaping and implementing solutions that deliver resilience for all,” he said.
“At the Global Center on Adaptation, we are proud to stand beside this generation a generation that turns ideas into action and action into impact. Under the African Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), we have seen youth-led innovation transform communities and build real resilience on the ground.”
The youth consultations highlighted shared themes across regions:
The need for policies that support livelihoods in changing climates, stronger access to adaptation finance for communities at risk, meaningful youth participation, the integration of local and Indigenous knowledge, and closer alignment between adaptation, mitigation, and national development goals.
Young people also emphasized the importance of climate education, opportunities for green jobs and entrepreneurship, and the use of technology and responsible AI to support community-led solutions.
These insights shaped a collective Call to Action urging governments, policymakers, and international institutions to reflect youth priorities in the way NDCs and NAPs are designed, implemented, and monitored.
It is also a call for partnership and an invitation for decision-makers to work with young people, not simply consult them, in building resilient communities, economies, and ecosystems.
About the Global Center on Adaptation
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organisation focused on advancing climate adaptation worldwide.
It drives policy reform, influences financing approaches in both the public and private sectors, and supports solutions that make development efforts more climate-resilient.
Founded in 2018, GCA’s dual headquarters in Rotterdam and Nairobi reflect its commitment to shared global leadership.
Its regional hubs in Abidjan, Dhaka, and Beijing work closely with local institutions to design, test, and scale adaptation solutions that are grounded in community needs and national priorities, ensuring that knowledge moves across regions and informs action where it is needed most.
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